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November 07, 2019 The use of the Crispr technique, which allows DNA editing, to "load" the immune system against cancer seems to work against tumors. A first experiment, on three patients, is giving positive results, which will be presented by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania at the next meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Two of the three patients, the New York Times explains, had multiple myeloma, a tumor of the blood, while the other a sarcoma, all in an advanced stage.

The researchers extracted the immune system T cells from the subjects and treated them with Crispr to 'turn off' three genes and make the tumor response more aggressive. Another modification of the DNA, made instead in a traditional manner, has directed the cells towards the tumor ones. The three patients were then infused with 100 million of these modified cells, and the longest follow up reached six months.

"The good news - explains Edward Stadtmauer, the lead author - is that the patients are still alive. So far the best answer we have seen is that the diseases have stabilized. The cells are behaving as we hope, and we have not seen effects significant collateral ".